The present invention relates to data storage, and more particularly, to migrating data from one volume to a new target volume by via Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PRRC).
In conventional data storage systems, PPRC is a common protocol used to replicate a volume, such as a direct-access storage device (DASD), from one control unit (primary control unit) to a secondary control unit. According to present PPRC protocol, establishing a PPRC pair to replicate a volume from a primary control unit to a secondary control unit volume requires copying every single track on the primary control unit volume, regardless of whether each track contains data or not. This approach undesirably introduces unnecessary overhead in the PPRC pair establishment process by copying tracks that contain no data.
Therefore, a storage solution which improves the migration of data from one control unit to another control unit by reducing overhead in the PPRC pair establishment process would be beneficial.